The Desert Is Ice Cold
by Sabaku-no-Ai
Summary: The 3 Sand siblings are in Konoha for a mission. At least…Gaara thinks they are. What does Gaisensei have to do with this ‘mission’? Enter Lee! After knowing who’s in town, he himself has a mission of his own! LeeGaara
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE:** The Desert Is Ice Cold **Author:** Sabaku-no-Ai

**Chapter Number:** One **Category:** Naruto **Type:** Romance/Humor (I can admit I suck at humor. XDD I just try to be funny. XD Apologies)  
**Rating:** M (rated for later-later language and yaoi)  
**Pairings:** Lee and Gaara (main)  
**Summary:** The 3 Sand siblings are in Konoha for a mission. At least…Gaara thinks they are. What does Gai-sensei have to do with this 'mission'? Enter Lee! After knowing who's in town, he himself has a mission of his own! YaoiLeeGaa

**Author's website:** http/www.sabaku-no-ai.tk **Author's comment:** Haha, this took so long to get out. Why? I don't know, actually. Maybe I'm just a slow writer, or maybe the fact that I've been completely brain-dead for a while now. :O School has started for me, so…I might not be able to update anything as fast as I type—which I have a lot of time for. Hope you like!  
Additional Notes: This story happens a few months after the Kimimaro incident. Just pretend all is well and peaceful, alright?

"Gaara, are you awake?" a dark silhouette from behind the sliding door (Note: you know, the Japanese-like thing.) asked sweetly. The tone was friendly…maybe scary.

The sliding door opened and behind it revealed a blonde girl, around 15, with four pony-tails. Her golden hair splashed from behind the rubber holding them together. Her eyes were a cold blue, but it somehow had love behind the gaze. She kneeled behind the figure huddled in the corner of the room, the person she was asking a while ago…Gaara.

"…" Gaara shifted and attempted to go closer to the wall, yet failed, for he was at the closest point he could be beside the wall without breaking it. His head was down, showing nothing but mahogany hair, and pale arms and hands entangled in the forest of auburn.

The blonde lifted her hand and touched her brother's arm. "Gaara?" she asked quietly, scared if he really was asleep.

"I'm not asleep, Temari." The red-head mumbled before sighing. "Go away." Gaara added, before going quiet again.

Temari smiled silently at her brother, before shaking the arm she was holding softly. "So then why are you on the floor? Are you tired? Are you sick? Hungry, perhaps? You should have said so because I—"

"Shut up…" Gaara commanded, a little weakly if I may say so myself, but still in a firm tone, without lifting his head still. "I'm never tired or sick. And I'm not hungry…" he lifts his head partially, his emerald eyes highlighted in the moonlight. "Now go, before I kill you." He added in a threatening, yet still weak tone, before bringing down his head once more. Temari sighed uneasily.

"I was just going to tell you that we have a mission." She said, trying not to sound persistent. Honestly, she was really excited. She succeeded in hiding her joy, making Gaara lift his head and eyes towards her direction a little, telling her that she was heard.

"What kind of mission?" the red-head asked, not all that interested, but he could admit he was awfully bored.

"It's in Konoha. I and Kankuro know nothing about it, either."

"Then who told you about it?"

"Erm…uhh…th-the…y-you see…"

"…I see what?"

"N-nothing! Who told us about it is not important, Gaara. What's important is that we do it!" The blonde's hands were fists, her elbows bended, making her clenched fists in front of her. They were shaking, making Gaara wonder.

"Do what?" the boy stalled, trying to get something from his sister, who is now obviously excited about the whole thing. "You said you and Kankuro know nothing about the mission."

"Uhhmm…" Temari was thinking of an excuse her 12-year old, yet very smart, brother would believe. She fails. "G-ga-gaara! What is this? 20 questions or something?" she was a little panicked. Her brilliant plan with her brother might be exposed! It shouldn't be until they reach Konoha. "Now come on!" she grabbed Gaara's wrist and pulled him up, not really caring that her younger brother is shooting her a death look from behind.

Out the door they went, and to Konoha they will go.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Leeeeeee!"

The two look-alikes hugged each other. A chough was heard from behind them.

"Oh? Ten-ten! What are you doing here? To train, perhaps?" the older, much taller, look-alike asked eagerly, facing his female pupil, a brunette, her brown eyes matching her hair that was in buns, a very Chinese hairstyle, matching her Chinese-like clothes. The girl sighed.

"If you two are done being weird, I just found out that the sand siblings are in town!" She said, starting off with a WTF-are-you-guys-doing look, and then beaming quickly at the word 'sand'. The two look-alikes in front of her beamed as well.

"Gaara-san's in town? GREAT!" Lee jumped up, fists in front of him. He kept jumping until Gai-sensei stopped the young one.

"Lee, calm down! Do you want to look for Gaara? Maybe we did enough training for today!" Gai-sensei suggested, a toothy grin plastered and cemented on his face. The younger version of him smiled, nodding furiously, and running off to a random direction.

"Gai-sensei, what was that about?" Ten-ten asked wonderingly.

"That fan girl (Note: the fan, as in, for hot days, and girl, female, not fan-girl as in a girl with fandom), Temari, contacted me yesterday, saying they made a plan to not make Gaara lonely anymore! We could at least help them with this 'plan' after what they did for Lee not too long ago!"

"And what's the plan?"

"The plan is," Gai-sensei paused, briefly looked around, and leaned closer to Ten-ten, voice down to a whisper. "In short…LEE."

Gaara walked silently, surrounded by the citizens of Konoha, getting a few glances here and there, but otherwise hidden. He had been dragged to the streets by Temari, whom he had lost sight of among the busy people, around 3 hours ago. He wanted to go back to the apartment they were staying in, yet when he did try to go there, he got lost.

Deciding to not try anymore, Gaara just walked around, his feet honestly aching, until he is found by someone he knows.

_That's it!_ Lee thought to himself, while making his way to the cities to try and look for a familiar, emotionless face. _This time, I'm going to get him to smile and be friends with me! That's been my goal ever since he saved me from Kimimaro. 4 months ago, that was, I know, but I never had the chance to see him. I've been training a lot, and he must be busy…being Kazekage now and all…_

Lee dashed along the street.

_You _can_ beat loneliness._ _But to be honest, if you think you can't, you never will be able to. If you wanted to be happy, believe you can be happy. If you think it's not possible, then maybe you don't want to be happy. I learned that lesson, in a way. I wanted to be great, to prove myself. I have thought I can, so I tried. Up to now, I'm still trying, but I am surely getting there. Day by day, I get better…but of course, not alone. Gaara helped me, as well as everyone else._

_Maybe that's just what Gaara needed all this time. A friend that could be there._ Lee paused his thoughts for a while, as well as pausing his running. He smiled. "…" He sighed to himself, in content, and shook his head, starting to run again.

_I want to be that friend._

Lee slowed down and smiled again a few minutes later, a clump of mahogany brown/red hair was seen behind a small tree.

"I expected to find you here, Gaara-san…" Lee whispered to himself, sighing, still with a smile on his face. Gaara would always be the kid outside, the kid who didn't belong, as most people would say. But Lee didn't think so. Lee didn't like people who assumed Gaara would stay like that and be a homicidal maniac forever. They no nothing. They shouldn't say anything smart-ass-like about what they don't understand.

3 and a half hours have passed, and for the past 15 minutes, Gaara sat behind a tree in an empty location, finally remembering the pleasure of solitude. Though…he quickly forgets this pleasure again.

"Boo!" a familiar voice said, strong hands, seemingly bandaged, covered his eyes from behind the tree (Note: yes, the tree is being hugged as well. It's not a very fat/wide tree anyway.).

"What are you doing here, Lee?" Gaara asked, already knowing who it was without thinking, and as if he didn't care of the 13-year-old's presence. In all truth and honesty though, he was happy to be with someone for once. Especially him.

"Awww, you peeped." Lee joked. He already knew that Gaara would know. Lee fake pouted and sat beside the red-head, staring at whatever the sand wielder was staring at.

A squirrel up in a tree.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara repeated after a few moments of silence. During those times, Lee couldn't bare sitting still, unlike Gaara, and constantly shifted, stretched, stood up and sat back down again or encircled the small tree along with the boy.

"Well, this is Konoha, right? Unless I'm in the wrong country!" Lee sighed, happy that the silence was broken. The squirrel has jumped on his shoulder a moment or two ago. And now it rested on Gaara's head. Gaara had no problem, as it was not bothering him. He didn't want to move, anyway. Lee chuckled at this sight.

"…" Gaara grew quiet again, making Lee sigh once more. Gaara turned his head instantly to Lee, the squirrel was thrown off his head and on to the ground; it ran for safety, now scared of Gaara. "You've been doing that a lot lately." He hissed, almost threateningly, obviously annoyed of Lee's sighs. "If you're bored, go away. Or do I have to kill you to keep you quiet?" He mumbled under his breath, yet still audible for the bobbed-cut ninja a little hesitant.

Lee quickly regained his confident position.

"I'm not bored!" he smiled to Gaara. Gaara looked away into space, not really caring much anymore. "I just…you know, hoped we could do something else! But could I ask you first…what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission with my siblings." Gaara closed his eyes after what seemed like an eternity from his last blink. He will certainly be the king of the Staring Game. "I lost sight of them hours ago while shopping, I guess."

Lee felt bad for Gaara. _Hours, huh? And they didn't even care to find him. I bet he was the one looking around for them. His feet are a little red from walking. …Oh, I know!_ "Why don't I help you?" Lee suggested, a smile crossing his face. "Or at least, I can accompany you! You know, we could grab a bite somewhere and then—"

"What?"

"Huh?" Lee was a little confused. "Uhm…I said…I'll help you?"

"No, after that."

"…I'll accompany you…?"

"After that." Gaara said a little lower, getting a tad frustrated.

"…Uhh…we could grab a bite somewhere?" Lee hesitated to say it again, but did, fearing his life.

"What did you mean by that?" Gaara's tone returned to normal; a deep, a little scary, monotonous voice.

"….Uhm…" Lee started to think, his thumb rubbing his chin, as if it would help him think of something. He started making these noises (i.e. 'hmmm…', 'uhhh…', 'letseeeee….') "…I meant…" he started. "I guess I meant we could hang out together, you know, casually and not waiting for any siblings and whatnot?"

Gaara stayed quiet. He seemed to be thinking about it. A few seconds passed, when he finally replied: "No."

"What? Why not?" Lee wondered. His mission is not going to work is Gaara is going to resist!

Gaara's shoulders lowered a little, he himself sighed and leaned more comfortable to the tree, eyes closed. "Because."

"Because what?"

"Just because."

"I won't take no for an answer."

"Too bad for you. I said no."

"Come on, Gaara-san, it will be fun!" Lee jumped up at this, his eyes, to Gaara, strangely determined to get him along. Gaara wondered why everyone must be so persistent and determined to get him to go somewhere. Can't he go somewhere alone?

"Let go of me…" Gaara said in a threatening voice, as he was being dragged by the wrist by Lee, along the streets of Konoha. It was still a busy street. Gaara would occasionally bump into people, much to his annoyance.

"If you wanted me to let go," Lee started, turning his head to look at Gaara over the shoulder before looking ahead again, still running along the streets. "You would have done something. You are the Kazekage, right?"

Gaara remained silent. Maybe he just isn't used to touch. In truth, he liked Lee's company. He half didn't want to be let go, but the other half was persistent, the half that doesn't know how to feel, the half that would always flinch away upon contact with other humans in almost any way. "I don't want to be known as Kazekage. I want to be hidden." Gaara said silently.

"But everyone in Konoha knows you're the Kazekage now, Gaara-san! Being Kazekage is such a great honor! It means you're powerful!" Lee tried to convince him. He admired Gaara for his strength, but is a little envious of it, as well. Gaara almost never trains. Lee usually trains from sun up to sun down. And yet, Gaara is still more powerful.

"I'm aware of what it means. But the power is…not mine." Gaara's voice faded to a mumble at the last part his head lowering a little, yet Lee, being the keen kid he is, heard him. They stopped in the middle of the street.

Lee knew what Gaara meant. Lee couldn't say that the monster is him, therefore making it his own power. No one would say that to a still-sort-of-homicidal maniac. Lee didn't think that way, anyway. "Well," Lee begun. "I think you're very powerful. With or without." Lee didn't want to mention the demon specifically, might it make Gaara hurt him. Gaara's head shot up, his narrow emerald eyes focused on onyx colored round ones. "…" Gaara said nothing.

"Haha…" Lee chuckled weakly, trying to pull Gaara's body to start walking again. His eyes averted to something else, for it was a tad scary, looking into Gaara's eyes. The first time he did that, his dream almost got destroy. The second time, however…he was saved. Lee nods to himself, admitting silently in his mind that simply staring at each other is awkward. "…Come on, Gaara-san, there's this shop over there. Let's go eat."

"Don't call me Gaara-san. You should be called like that instead of me."

"Huh? Why?"

"You were the first one to hurt me here." Gaara pointed to his face. "Not here, unlike everyone else." His right hand rested on his heart, his gaze lowered to the ground. "You weren't scared of me. You even touched me and the sand didn't react."

Lee blushed a bit, and smiled an honest smile. "I won't hurt you there," Lee took the cold, pale hand located over the young boy's heart, in his own. "I won't hurt you anywhere for that matter anymore! And Gaara, I don't see any reason to be scared of you. And touching you? You're maybe right on that, but…I don't need to be called 'san' for it." He chuckled. "It makes me blush, when people call me that."

"Why, Lee-san?"

Lee blushed until he was beet red in color. It was embarrassing to call him 'Lee-san'…for him, at least. Plus…Gaara looked so cute saying it. Lee cleared his throat. It didn't help. His voice was still a little shaky. "E-err…I told you not to call me that, Gaara-san…" his eyes looked around, looking for anything to distract him from Gaara.

"Then don't call me Gaara-san. Besides, you're older." Gaara said monotonously, before resuming the stopped walk they had together.

"…" Lee stared as the pale hand slipped away from his calloused ones. He stared at Gaara's back as he walked to the direction they were going to. Lee noticed the gourd. I should try lifting that thing for every waking moment. Lee mused. Gaara carried it around, even ran with it, like it weighed nothing. How much sand is in that thing, how hard the exterior of the gourd really is, Lee could only guess. In general, though, he knew it was heavy.

Lee sighed, and shook his head, a small smile on his lips. He walked quickly to Gaara's side, catching up with the sand-nin, as they both made their way to the Ichiraku Ramen branch, now visible.

**Author's Note:** Haha…XD Chapter one is done. It's so short. ;; Why? I dunno…I wasn't really planning to end here, and just end with a cliffhanger, but no. I'm a good person. I don't really like making people so uber-anxious that they'll annoy me with 'Please update' notes and whatnot. XDD But it's nice receiving those! OO It means people actually want you to continue! What do you think of the story so far? Read and review please!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, Itachi would be having butt-secks with a shark in every episode.

**Notes:** A sort of change in POVs scattered around the chapter. Not too often, but just between Lee and Gaara, expressing their own wordy thoughts, and stuff like that. No part of the chapter is in 1st person, but it's more of a difference of which character the part is centered on.

Oh, and **this is STILL a LeeXGaara fic**, no matter what is says, no matter what you think. Lee's just dense. giggles And a hint of another pairing. Oh, you'll see.

Finally, don't kill me for being so slow! ;-; I know I am. No need to rub it in by brutally punching me. runs away crying…and goes back to type more It's going to be shorter than chapter 1 though…sorry.

**The Desert Is Ice Cold**

-Chapter 2-

"You sure that's all you're ordering? It's my treat." Lee stared at the simple bowl of miso soup and glass of iced tea. He squinted his eyes at the sand-nin's small order, now knowing why Gaara was so strangely thin.

The red-head beside him shook his head. "I'm fine." He replied simply.

The green clad ninja blinked at the other's short response. It's time to get more out of this guy. "Oh," He started. "Did you already eat beforehand?"

Gaara shook his head a 'no'. "I'm just not hungry." He stared at the steam emitting from a pan of hot noodles. He slowly brought his glass of iced tea to his lips, taking a sip before putting it back down.

Lee wanted to shake him and shout out, 'Talk more, damn you!' But alas, he might get a big beating afterwards. The Suna's Kazekage was no man to mess with.

His mind drifted to the Chuunin exam. Back then, Gaara was someone you can't even sit next to without fidgeting or fearing for your life. But then, ever since Kimimaro's attack on the bowl-cut ninja, and Gaara's heroic rescue, it's been easier on both of them.

Gaara seemed to have found some of his inner peace. The kind of peace that won't simply be brought by end of wars of having lots of friends, but instead, more of, being contented with what you do and how it helps people. As if you feel you're wanted, and needed.

Don't get Lee wrong. He'd love the ending of wars, and the thought of Gaara having lots of friends would be extremely nice. But for him, during the 14 years that Gaara has been living, he never found peace anywhere. He never knew what he wanted. No one wanted him, no one needed him. He never helped people because he was afraid of them.

Thus, he never learned to love.

Maybe he still doesn't know the exact definition of love, but isn't feeling it enough? We all don't know what love is, but we love anyway. We love being loved.

Gaara needs to be loved. He needs to be cared for. Not physically protected, as a Kazekage should be fully capable to do that themselves, but emotionally cared for.

Lee needed to show Gaara that we was cared for. Especially by his friends here in Konoha.

"I wish." Gaara's soft voice was heard. Lee looked at the sand-nin, a thick eyebrow raised. When Gaara didn't notice his silent question, he shrugged it off.

"Yo! Lee!" a voice shouted. A voice no one could ever forget.

Lee turned in his stool. "Oh, Naruto." He smiled.

The blonde came dashing down the road going to the Ichiraku Ramen stand. After him came an ebony haired ninja, the one Lee had sworn to beat for Sakura's affections…losing miserably.

Lee glanced at Gaara, who still stared at the steam of the ramen noodles, sipping his iced tea occasionally. When Gaara didn't move, Lee said, "Come on, let's go." Before he took hold of Gaara's thin wrist and pulled him out of his stool, leading to the direction of the newcomers.

* * *

Thankfully, the iced tea was good. It was refreshing. Just what Gaara needed.

He stared ahead, not wanting to look at the Konoha ninja beside him, nor at his food. But instead of staring straight and seeing nothing but a blank wooden wall, he saw smoke. The grayish air was coming from the newly cooked ramen, obviously still hot.

He stared at the steam, before his eyes darted to the figures just behind the steam. It was the cook for Ichiraku, still cooking some more. The supposed waitress came beside him and patted cloth on his forehead. The cook smiled gratefully and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

They would have looked like a nice couple, if only they weren't father and daughter.

This brought Gaara's thoughts to his own dad. Did he like Temari more, or perhaps Kankuro? Maybe Gaara was the one father liked best?

Gaara mentally kicked himself. '_What a thought_.' He mused. '_Father, liking me…_'

"…I wish." He whispered to himself softly, though obviously being heard by the Taijustu master beside him. Gaara chose to ignore it, still staring at the smoke.

His thoughts made their connection to his siblings, and his uncle. '_You said you hated my suffering, and you understood; you'd take care of me_.' he thought. '_You said you'd always be there. Well, where are you now?_'

"Yo! Lee!" an annoying voice rung in his head. He grunted silently.

Before he knew it, Lee grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the person he really didn't want to see right now. He slightly raised his non-existent eyebrows at the blonde's unexpected companion.

"Hn." Gaara bit back a grin, and a taunt to the Uchiha that wanted to come out so bad.

His hair looked like it wasn't combed for…ever. He was paler than usual, and his clothes were wrinkled much. Gaara grinned at him.

"Shut up…" Sasuke quietly shot back.

Gaara looked at Lee and Naruto, who looked as if to be in a very deep and serious conversation. So he stood beside Sasuke, whom was trying to fix his hair.

"You couldn't have, right?" Gaara looked at Sasuke. When the ebony-haired ninja turned his attention to him with a questioning look, Gaara' jerked his head sharply, motioning to the Kyuubi bearer.

Sasuke's cheeks immediately tinted pink. He coughed, not saying a word.

"Guess you did." Gaara closed his eyes, and lowered his head, barely managing to keep down a hysterical laugh intended for the boy beside him.

"Shut up, Gaara!" Sasuke said, annoyed. He was about to smack Gaara upside the head, but quickly withdrew, knowing what'll happen.

"You know you can't make me." Gaara began to walk away, when Sasuke came up in front of him and blocked his path. "Get out." His voice was low.

Sasuke held his ground. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Gaara answered simply, pushing the other ninja aside and continued walking, not bothering to say goodbye to Naruto, Sasuke, and…"Oh," he stopped in his tracks and turned his head around half-way looking at Sasuke from behind. "Tell Lee…thanks." And with that, he was gone.

* * *

"You have to help me, Naruto!" Lee's fists clenched in front of him.

"More like, we have to help Gaara!" Naruto nodded furiously. When he stopped, his face was so serious, to a point that it's hilarious. "So how do we go about this plan of yours?"

"We're going to find Temari and Kankuro. I'm sure they'd love to help." Lee answered. "Then we'll ask Hinata for decorations, Chouji for food and Ino for venue."

"It has to be a place everyone knows Gaara loves to stay."

"Sunagakure?"

"Are you kidding? I bet he hates it there."

"Oh, right…" Lee rubbed his chin in thought. "We'll just ask Temari. I'm sure they know."

Naruto nodded. "Right." He jumped. "This is going to be fun! Party party!" his grin was wide. "I'm going to eat a lot, and then I'll help Hinata-chan with all the decorations, and—"

"And Gaara will be happy." Lee smiled to himself.

"Oh, of course, that." Naruto nodded knowingly, crossing his arms as if he didn't forget the main reason the surprise party was being held.

Sasuke walked up to the two ninja's, his hair, at least, decent now.

"Oi, what were you two talking about so seriously?" he asked.

"We're going to throw a surprise party for Gaara to cheer him up!" Naruto answered enthusiastically.

Lee clasped his hand over Naruto's mouth. "Ssh! Do you want Gaara to hear! It'll spoil the fun!"

"Let him scream." Sasuke waved his hand dismissively, the other hand on his hip. "Gaara already went home."

Lee's eyes widened. "H-he did! I didn't even get to say goodbye!" he was about to take off to the direction he assumed Gaara went, when Sasuke said monotonously, "He said thank you."

He only took one step forward, his eyes a bit considerate, thoughtful at that. His famous smile was placed back on his face by those words. "Heh…" he chuckled to himself, scratching his head and kicking a small rock on the ground.

"Hey, you in green! Here's you're tab!" Lee heard from the waitress from inside the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

* * *

**After notes**: The lines from when Gaara was thinking about his siblings and uncle,

_"You said you hated my suffering,_

_And you understood._

_You'd take care of me._

_You said you'd always be there._

_Well, where are you now?"_

Are written by the greatness called Conor Oberst, from the band Bright Eyes, for their song entitled: "**Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh**" Listen to it. It's really nice. nods

Did you spot the other pairing? Yeah. SasuNaru. Personally, I don't mind them. I mean, it's okay. I just couldn't think of any other pairing to put up here. giggles

**Read **(which you obviously did)** & Review please?** Thankies. I promise I'll be faster in updating now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I own absolutely nothing associated with Naruto and its creators. Well, maybe except that nifty Konoha headband.

**A/N:** Need reasons? Nah, you readers are too good for such things. Thus, I won't give any. Hee hee. Just know that I lurve ye. Oh, and maybe hanging people is Gaara's favorite punishment for treason. Haha.

Title: **The Desert Is Ice Cold**

**Chapter:** 3

Author: **Sabaku-no-Ai**

* * *

"So what do you think, Temari?" the bobbed-cut Taijutsu master gazed at the person across him thoughtfully. "Where does Gaara usually hang out?"

"Hm…" the blonde mused and held her chin, rubbing it. "Well, he could—"

"Under a tree."

All eyes fell on the man to their side, whom had always and until now, sported a black cap whose top was pointed like the ears of a cat. And for another thing, his grin was much like a Cheshire's, exaggerated with the face-paint he wore.

"What?" Temari asked with a thin blonde eyebrow raised, her voice a little lower in tone, as if to say 'What-the-hell?'

Her brother shrugged. "He asked where Gaara hangs out. I say 'under a tree'. It's true."

Lee pondered for a moment. "We can't have a party under a tree. That'd be boring. It has to be extravagant!"

Both Sand ninjas shook their heads. "Gaara hates extravagant."

"Oh…well, how about fun!"

"I think he hates that even more." Kankuro smirked as he threw a kunai across the room, to the wall, pulling it back with a jerk of his hand, which had a string of his chakra tied to the hook of the knife.

Konoha's green lotus doesn't know what to do. How could he throw a nice party for Gaara, when Gaara couldn't even be considered nice?

"What do we do…?" he half-sighed in defeat. He couldn't really understand why he wanted this so much for Gaara.

Lee wanted Gaara to smile, be happy, to be normal like everyone else. Heck, even Sasuke is normal. Lee was told by the aforementioned that maybe it was because he liked Gaara. And it's true.

Lee does like Gaara. He's a very interesting character. The red-head that intrigues him seemed ignorant, and Lee probably can't stand people as such.

When Lee faced Gaara in the Chuunin Exam, long ago, Gaara was some psychotic devil that had no mercy, no plea, no complain, nor no contentment. Gaara seemed to never be happy, to never be at peace.

Lee faced Sasuke and Naruto with much interest because they both knew what they wanted for themselves. They had their dreams, while Gaara had nothing but a wandering pair of feet, desperate for an answer to a question he didn't even know.

It's like walking in circles, thinking you're going somewhere, when you're still at the very beginning. Nothing changes for him.

Gaara had made up his mind once, that he loved only himself and had no care for anything else other than himself. But Lee was too asleep to figure that out, too in pain.

_But I guess he changed his mind. _Lee smiled to himself, closing into reality just in time when the paper and wooden-framed sliding door opened and revealed the object of his prior thoughts.

"Ah!" Temari exclaimed, quickly opening her large fan and putting it in front of the green-clad ninja that had visited, as if to hide him.

Gaara, quickly seeing that flicker of green and black before Temari had hid him, monotonously said. "What is Lee-san doing here?" His face was as calm and emotionless as his tone of voice.

Kankuro stood up and faced his brother, a good few inches shorter than him. "He isn't here." He replied, mimicking Gaara's apathetic voice.

"If you lie, I'll have you hanged." Gaara warned.

Kankuro immediately tried to cover up. "Haha! You know I'm just kidding, right, little brother?" The older hooked his arm around the younger's neck.

"Say another word and I'll have you hanged."

Kankuro immediately backed away from his brother. In Gaara's vision came his older sister, guarding her fan. "Way to go, nitwit!" Temari hissed at a shrugging Kankuro before turning back to the Kazekage that was closing in on her.

"Move it."

"N-no…?"

"Do I smell treason?"

"N-no!" Temari backed away, and scampered to the corner where Kankuro had moved. Said boy smirked and laughed at his sister, who really had to admit that even if Gaara didn't like being a Kazekage, he surely didn't mind using his powers to the fullest capacity (that is, torturing someone without necessarily being held up by the police control).

"H-hi, Gaara-san!" Lee tried to brighten the mood.

It hadn't made Gaara's physical emotion any softer, but his voice generously lowered in malice. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" the Konoha ninja looked at the two in the far corner for an answer that wasn't given. "Well, I was just here to…uh, help train your forces in the field of Taijutsu. K-kankuro called for me."

Gaara glanced back at his brother with darkly-lined eyes that looked alert, but were quite tired. "Is this true?"

Kankuro was giving the 'What-the-hell?' look to Lee, but quickly shifted attention. "Y-yeah. I just figured that you don't need to bother yourself with them, so I took the liberty."

Gaara's silence was deafening. No one spoke for a while, either. They all looked at the Kazekage in the center of the room that appeared to be mulling over the situation that his brother had liberally bubbled up.

When Gaara's eyes focused on Kankuro, he gave a small nod and said, "Alright. Troops will partly be under Rock Lee. Go on and put it up on an announcement sheet."

Kankuro nodded sharply. "Right away." Not before giving an apologetic look to Temari and Lee, he went through the sliding door and closed it.

When Gaara had turned his back to the green-clad ninja, Temari took her cue to speak up. "Was there any other business you may have, Mister Rock Lee?" she said quite formally.

Lee nodded at her. "Yes, just one more. If I may ask a question, Kazekage-sama—"

"Gaara."

Lee stopped. "What?"

"Don't call me Kazekage. My name's Gaara. I thought I told you that before."

Lee blinked. He just got caught up on the formality and then forgot that Gaara detested his position, much less be referred to by it.

"Sorry. Uhm."

"What was your question, Lee-san?"

Then, the bobbed-cut ninja just blurted it out. "Where's your favorite hangout?"

Gaara half-turned to look at the Konoha-nin behind him. He kept his silence as he faced back forward and began to make his way to the sliding door.

Just when Lee thought that his question won't be answered, Gaara spoke loud enough so he could hear. "Follow me."

After how many flights of stairs, Gaara and Lee made it to the roof of the Kazekage's building, also known as their house.

It was quite breezy at the top, overlooking the rest of Sunagakure, and beyond the majestic city, was a vast extension of sand.

"It's really pretty here." Lee breathed.

He remembered the real reason why he had asked the question. And he began to think… _This place is way better than under a tree._

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**A/N:** Ooooh. Pretty view. Oh, speaking of views, **_RE_VIEW** Haha. Get it? 


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **The Desert Is Ice Cold (chapter 4)

**Author: **Sabaku-no-Ai

**A/N: **Reviews motivate me. They really do. I mean, it's been 5 months since I last submitted a chapter or anything, but someone reviewed this story and it made me read everything again…and it motivated me; so…sorry for the wait! Love ya'll!

**Warning: **Super slight OOC-but-you-won't-realize-it-ness. :) (I apologize for it…I haven't watched/read any Naruto stuff for a long time)

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"Objective: Put decorations up as fast and quietly as possible. Do you read?" 

"Roger that. But what do we do about guards, sir? Over." Fox-like blue eyes looked questioningly at round, brown, determined ones.

Lee's index finger stroked his chin thoughtfully. He, Naruto and Hinata are currently behind the Kazekage house, hiding behind a dried bush. It's at least 2 in the morning, and he was pretty sure everyone was asleep. They needed to put the decorations up for later that morning, so that Gaara will be surprised. But the catch was that they had to set it up in Gaara's favorite place: his roof. He observed many guards standing by the entrances and exits. How they will be able to go through without trouble is beyond him. Hinata tapped him on the shoulder. "P-perhaps we could j-just…uhm…tell the g-guards about o-our plan…?" she suggested.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Are you crazy, Hinata? They won't allow us! They're super overprotective! We might get killed! We gotta find away to sneak in!" Hinata looked at him dumbly for a few seconds, as if to say 'Well, isn't that more dangerous?' before her eyes lowered to the ground, embarrassed. Naruto hummed noisily to himself, conjuring up a plan to get them in without anyone knowing; like **true **ninjas.

"No," Lee mumbled. "I think they'd let us in. Kankuro and Gaara made me the leader of the Suna Troops earlier today. I think they'd let me in if I explain only a little; you know, without giving out too much." His eyes scanned the house thoroughly; three to four red-clad soldiers stood by each door. There were 18 in total. Lee really wanted this to work for Gaara's sake. And although he knows there is a chance that Gaara will never forgive him for throwing a party without his consent, Lee is confident that Gaara's gratitude will overwhelm his displeasure. At least, that's what he convinces himself with.

_Gaara still thinks he doesn't have friends. _Lee growled angrily to himself, as if it was his fault for not showing Gaara his appreciation from the very beginning. _He doesn't know that everyone was one-hundred percent willing to help prepare the party. I'm sure he'll realize how much people really care for him. _Lee's trail of thought halted when Hinata tugged on his arm, panicked. His attention turned to an empty spot beside him, where Naruto had been. Looking over the bush, his eyes widened as he saw Naruto hiding behind a pole from a nearby guard; then jumping to a window and tossing himself over to the roof. He waved triumphantly to Lee and Hinata from above. _That idiot! _Lee panicked as well, fearing for the ruining of his plan. But when he saw that the guards on the roof hadn't noticed him, he sighed in hesitant relief.

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"Now, we have to do this really quietly. These guards are tough." Lee whispered to his two companions after they made it to the roof. They huddled together, discussing the course of action. "First, we need to set up the tables and chairs…where are the tables and chairs?!" Naruto pointed down to the bush. "Oh, okay, also, we can tie the balloons to the chairs already. Do we have enough red ones?" Lee smiled as he saw Hinata hold up a rather large bag of deflated balloons. "Cool. The long food table and the streamers are last, because they catch the most attention. Ready?" Everyone nods. "Alright, let's go! We need this done before—" 

"Before what, Lee-san?"

All three ninja's shoulders tensed. Slowly, they turned their head to the dark silhouette of a sleepy Kazekage. Strangely, he did not look murderous or anything close to that. More of a childish kind of curiosity. "What's going on, sir? Are there trespassers?" a guard rushed up to Gaara's side, and a few more followed suit. Pretty soon, six were behind the teen, who then raised his arm and sent them away.

"…" Gaara's dark, tired eyes looked to what Hinata had clenched in her hand. "Balloons?" he asked monotonously.

Lee shifted in position and attempted to cover a bag of decorations and other miscellany with his hands. He mentally slapped himself. _Gosh, I forgot that Gaara doesn't sleep! _He pouted to himself, realizing that his on-time effort was in vain. He straightened out when Gaara kicked his foot. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm…uhm…going to throw you a surprise party…?" he hesitantly said.

Gaara smirked, obviously thinking that he was kidding. "No really," he said, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here?" Lee smiled at Gaara's ignorance…though he never expected to use the words 'Gaara' and 'ignorance' together. The Kazekage is highly intelligent; but maybe, in this case, too intelligent. This is more proof that Gaara doesn't believe that his friends would do something nice for him. Lee is not sure how to feel about that.

"Uh…Lee told us that the view here is nice! So we, uhm, decided to go!" Naruto made up. Gaara asked him why Lee would do so at the time of night. "And yeah…man, the view is awesome! Why haven't you invited anyone to this place, Gaara? They'd love how far away everything seems…and how everything is brown…so much sand…" he rambled on and Gaara quickly lost interest. He turned to Hinata, who played with a deflated balloon. He was about to turn to Lee but then heard someone call said ninja.

"Lee! Hey, Lee, where are you?! I got the food for the party!" a hushed female whisper called aimlessly. "Whoa! What the?! Let me go!" the person whined as she was held by the guards, questioning her about why she's here. "I'll let you know, I can kick your ass anytime!" The guards grumbled angrily at her, talking about how disrespectful teenagers are these days. She observed a knocked-out soldier by the door. "I'm Gaara's friend! He's going to kill you once he finds out that you're sleeping on the job! Let me go or I'll tell!" The guards refused to budge.

Gaara listened from the rooftop. _Was that Ino just now? _He pieced his thoughts together. _Did she just call me her friend? …And what's this about food? And a party? _He looked at a panicked Lee from the corner of his eye. _He wasn't lying…? _He approached the edge and shouted to the guards below, "Leave her alone." The guards mumbled their protest, but wouldn't want to disobey someone like Gaara. They let the blonde female go, who brushed them off. Lifting a heavy bag of various treats up, she reclined her head. "Thanks Gaa—ack! Gaara?! You heard! Oh no!" Lee then appeared next to Gaara, looking harassed (xx). "Lee! He knows! What do we do!?" When Lee didn't respond, Ino made her way to the roof. Dropping her sack next to Lee, she observed that Naruto and Hinata had the same look on their face. Gaara's emotion was a mix of confusion and amusement.

"So I guess there really is a party?" Gaara whispered to himself. Firmly, he asked the four ninjas, "Who is responsible for this?"

Lee immediately straightened. "I-I am!" Naruto was heard shouting, "Oh the brave Lee!" in the background. The Taijustu master cleared his throat, and then proceeded to rant, "This party was supposed to make you realize that you have friends here in Konoha! We wanted to make you feel like you have something to come back to and to look forward to and that we love you!" Naruto commented on the side again, saying "Lee loves you the most!"

Ino smacked him upside the head.

"We planned this party for you because you're our friend. I don't care if you've given up on emotion or anything, because we sure haven't given up on you. I don't care if you think that a Kazekage shouldn't feel anything because you're wrong! A leader should feel the most out of anyone in a group. He's the one who is destined to protect and to guard their comrades, and vice-versa. And guess what? We're your comrades! So I don't care if—"

"I never said I didn't care." Gaara interrupted, a blank stare still showing. "I never said I've given up on emotion or that a Kazekage should deprive themselves of feeling. And I surely never said that I never had something to look forward to every time I go to Konoha." His piercing eyes seemed glassy as they looked at Lee in thought. No, he in fact _does _have quite a few things to look forward to. The powerful, caring, determined ninja in front of him was one of those things. _Lee is someone to look forward to…whether or not in Konoha._

Lee blinked. "O-oh…uhm…well, in that case, we just wanted to reminded you about those things." He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. Hinata came up to the two and handed each a balloon, red and round…just like how Gaara's cheeks are at the moment. "Look! It's dawn." Ino pointed out, and then a big shout of "SURPRISE!" rang in their ears. Sasuke led the pack, followed by Sakura, Gai-sensei, Ten-Ten…and everyone. Everyone is here. Everyone did this for Gaara. He couldn't be more surprised.

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**A/N: **A really, really HUGE thank you to my readers and the people to review my stories. I wouldn't be here if it were not for them. Please _**REVIEW!!!**_And if you see a typo, please tell me about it! Constructive/fan-girlish criticism only.** Thanks. :) **(BTW, no, the story isn't over yet. Any plot suggestions welcome. :D ) 


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